


Leader

by babsalone



Category: Bastion (Video Game)
Genre: Bonding, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Winter, physical affection, platonic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-24
Updated: 2019-12-24
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:47:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21937696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/babsalone/pseuds/babsalone
Summary: Zulf wakes up amongst the animals and people, deep in the darkness of the cold night, and finds they’re missing one: the Kid.The Kid can't sleep and Zulf comforts him.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 34





	Leader

**Author's Note:**

> sggsecretsanta19 fic for Tuinen. hope you enjoy!

They’re all asleep, or at least they should be; winter’s icy hand has enveloped the Bastion, and a deep, aching cold has set into their bones. No snow yet, but the grass of the Bastion is tinged with frost and crackles and breaks with every step. The four of them have taken to sleeping in the kitchen, curled against each other with the fire burning. The Squirt and Pecker have joined in, too, and the Squirt always sleeps nestled into Zulf’s side. But tonight that’s not so; Zulf wakes up amongst the animals and people, deep in the darkness of the cold night, and finds they’re missing one: the Kid. Carefully, he wiggles his way out of the nest and makes his way up the stairs. There was only one place the Kid could be.

…But Zulf finds he’s not at that one place. Anytime the Kid has been on his own when the night is dark and the stars are dim, he’s been in the Distillery, nursing a Black Rye or Bastion Bourbon. Or Werewhiskey, when things were particularly rough. But tonight the Distillery is empty except for the many bottles lining its shelves. Where could he be? Zulf scouts the Bastion, but it’s hard to see; violet-grey clouds cover the sky, suffocating the stars and letting through only the barest glimmers of moonlight. But the wind blows its way through them, and the clouds part for the briefest moment. Zulf spots the Kid on the other side of the Bastion, sitting on the edge. Zulf makes his way over as quickly as he can, lest he lose the light of the moon. It’s frigid and Zulf shivers as he heads towards the Kid. How that man can stay warm, Zulf will never know. Once Zulf’s behind him, he hesitates; should he leave him alone? They all need solitude sometimes. But with this weather, no good can come from this kind of loneliness. The Kid needs someone, even if he doesn’t want it.

‘...Kid.’ Zulf sits down beside him and draws his knees to his chest. ‘It’s late.’

‘...Guess so,’ the Kid murmurs. A promising response; if he’s using actual words, he can’t be too opposed to companionship.

‘What’s keeping you up?’

In the past, Zulf used to wait for the Kid to speak, let him pull it from his own heart. But the Kid is reluctant to speak on his own, and he’s willing, sometimes, to let Zulf lead him. Perhaps Zulf is moving a bit too fast tonight, but the frosty air spurs him onwards. He shivers and draws his knees closer.

‘It’s…’ the Kid pauses, then sighs. His response is a simple shrug, that rise and fall of his shoulders he does when words don’t work. Now is the time to let his words come on their own, for the Kid to unlock his heart at his own pace. But the weather doesn’t permit such time, and Zulf stands.

‘Why don’t we go inside somewhere,’ he offers, holding out his hand. ‘It’s too cold to be out so late.’

The Kid takes his hand and hoists himself up. No hesitation; another good sign. Without a word, the Kid moves away and leads them through the dark with sure footsteps, and soon they arrive at the Forge. Once they’re inside, the Kid sets to light the fire he uses to work with the metals. After it’s lit, the Kid sits near it and Zulf follows. The heat fills the air quickly, and soon Zulf feels warmth make its way into his tired bones. Ever since that last time at the Terminals, the cold has made his body ache and groan. His muscles tighten and his bones grind to a halt. It was different when he was young, but then again, many things were different

The Kid slumps against Zulf, as though the weight of the world weighs too heavy on his shoulders and he must pass the burden to another. Zulf reaches out and touches the Kid’s hair, smoothes the fluffy strands, and the Kid relaxes into his touch. Sometimes the Kid was more animal than man; all it took was a little petting and he could be tamed. Anytime he was mad, Zia would just rub his head and all his anger would dissipate; when Rucks would rub his head when he did a good job, he’d look happier than a Squirt. It’s certainly an amusing memory, but there are more important things to focus on now. The Kid needs his help.

‘Will you tell me what’s wrong?’ Zulf murmurs. ‘I want to help.’

The Kid whines, but doesn’t disengage himself. A silence settles between them, but not for long. The Kid takes a deep breath, hesitates, and then: ‘I don’t… wanna be the leader anymore.’

Zulf swallows the urge to ask for me. Instead he waits, pets the Kid’s hair, grows sleepy in front of the fire. His body says to go, lie on the floor, drift to sleep, but now is not the time. There is time for that later.

‘Feel like… everyone’s always countin’ on me. Always gotta do what’s right. But I don’t always know what’s right. Don’t know how to do any of this. Don’t…’ The Kid sighs and rubs his face. ‘M’tired of being in charge all the time. Want someone else to take over.’

Throughout the Kid’s words, Zulf continues to stroke his hair, tangle his fingers in the messy strands. There are many things he could say, but he quiets them, saves them for later. Now is the time for the Kid to speak.

‘Just want a few days… just do somethin’ like Zia does. I could garden. Or take a nap, like Rucks. Or smoke cigarettes, like you.’

‘I do more than smoke cigarettes,’ Zulf says, too light to be a proper chiding, and smiles a little. ‘But you could all those things. We can take over.’

‘But what if…’

The Kid trails off.

‘But what if…?’ Zulf pushes.

‘What if they… think I’m weak, or somethin’. On the Walls, had to do everything. Had to handle everything. No one else to pick up your slack. Didn’t do enough, they gave you more. Didn’t finish work in time, had to skip meals. Sleep. Didn’t do it right, had to do it again. No whinin’. Made you weak. If you were weak, made you worthless. If you were worthless, you…’

The Kid’s breath hitches in his throat, something like a sob rising up. Zulf pulls the Kid into his arms and squeezes him. The Kid whimpers, whines, and hot tears bleed into Zulf’s clothing. Zulf rocks him back and forth, pets his hair, whispers soothing words into it. ‘It’s okay,’ he murmurs. ‘No one will think you’re weak. You’re so, so strong. We’re all so proud of you. Taking a break makes you strong. Taking care of yourself makes you strong. Letting us take care of you makes you strong.’

Zulf murmurs encouragements, promises that he is okay, that he will be okay, that they all love him. The Kid just cries harder, weeps like Zulf’s never heard him before. Many years have passed on the Bastion, and all of them have wept, but the Kid, only rarely. He spent seven years on the Wall, at least; the Kid was never quite sure. Said time moved differently there. This is something special the Kid is giving him, something Zulf will keep locked in his heart, remember with a strange sort of fondness.

Finally, the Kid’s sobs begin to subside, and he collapses entirely onto Zulf, nearly knocking him over. Zulf rubs his back and holds him up as best he can. ‘You don’t have to be leader,’ Zulf murmurs. ‘You can take a break, for however long you need. We’re a family, Kid; we take care of each other. Zia and Rucks and I can handle things. You never have to be the leader again if you don’t want to. We can do whatever needs to be done to support you.’

‘Ya promise?’ the Kid mumbles. ‘Will everyone else feel the same?’

Zulf smiles and gives him a squeeze. ‘I promise, and I know everyone will agree with me. All we have out here is each other, and we’ll do anything for each other.’

‘That mean you’ll do anything for Rucks?’ the Kid asks, and Zulf can hear the smile in his voice.

‘...Well, that’s pushing it. But we’re still a family, and this family supports each other.’

The Kid shifts his weight off of Zulf and moves back into a sitting position. Zulf barely represses a sigh; Gods, he really is heavy. ‘Never really had a family before,’ the Kid mumbles. ‘Had my mama, but… didn’t have her for very long. And I always had to take care of her. Always had to work. Don’t know what I’ll do.’

‘You can do anything you want, Kid. Just try different things. Help people. What do  _ you  _ want to do?’

The Kid pauses, hesitates, shrugs. Zulf frowns. All he really does do is work, it seems. All of them work here, they have to; the Bastion requires constant care and attention. Just four people is barely enough to keep everything going. But they still manage to have their free time, time to talk and play and relax. Less so the Kid; he always stayed up late doing what needed to be done, even when the others were sleeping. If he wasn’t building or fixing something on the Bastion, he was out scouting the strange lands they floated by, picking up supplies or looking for new people. It’s been like that since the beginning, since before they even took off into the wild blue yonder. But that can change. They can do what the Kid did, and he can do what they did. Everyone can work together now, play together now, relax together now.

‘Here, Zia and I were going to practice painting tomorrow. Why don’t you join us?’ Zulf offers.

‘Don’t know how to paint,’ the Kid says.

‘You don’t have to know. Just mess around, play with colors. There’s no right way to do it.’

The Kid sighs. ‘But…’

‘But?’

‘Still gotta work. Don’t know if I got time for it.’

‘Listen, Kid, I’m the leader now, and I’m saying you have to take time off and have fun. Understood?’

The Kid looks a little wary, but he breaks into a smile. ‘Can’t say no to that.’ He stands. ‘Better get some work done now.’

Zulf sighs and pulls the Kid back down. ‘No, I said ‘time off.’ What we’re doing now is going back to bed, it’s far too late.’

The Kid whines, but doesn’t get up again. Instead, he lies back on the ground. ‘Let’s sleep here. Too cold to go back to the kitchen.’

Well, that certainly is true. Zulf lies down next to the Kid and curls up against him. ‘Mm, good idea. Goodnight, Kid.’

‘G’night,’ the Kid returns, and they both drift off to sleep.

\---

Zulf rummages through the various stuff piles in his tent, a bundle of brushes tucked under his arm. Zulf’s tent is a chaotic collection of fabric and trinkets, one only he knows how to navigate. But there’s a method to his disorganization, and he knows where everything. Usually. Today, he’s looking for jars of paint, but can’t seem to find them.

‘Zulf!’ a peppy voice calls out. Zia bursts into his tent. ‘Are you ready to paint?'

'Zia,' Zulf sighs, 'please don't enter my tent without announcing yourself. I could have been naked.'

'Oh, I've seen worse things,' Zia says, sticking out her tongue. 

'Gee, thanks, I really appreciate that.'

'Don't get grumpy on me. Are you ready or not?'

'I still need to find the paint,' Zulf replies. 'I could have sworn I had them in the corner.'

'If you organized your tent, everything would be a lot easier to find.'

'Everything  _ is  _ organized,' Zulf grumbles. 'You just don't know how it's organized.' He moves away a pile of books on the ground and finds a variety of glass jars filled with a vibrant rainbow of colors. 'Ah, they're we go. Zia, come help me carry these.'

Zia comes over and loads her arms with the jars. 'So the Kid said he's painting with us today. Is he finally taking a break?'

'He's taking an extended break. He doesn't want to be leader anymore. So I'm taking over.'

Zia puffs out her cheeks. 'Hey, why do you get to be leader? I want to be the leader too!'

Zulf laughs. 'We'll take turns, then. You can be the leader next week.'

'And then Rucks can be the leader after that?'

Zulf baulks. 'Let's not get ahead of ourselves,' he says. 'Now, come on. Let's show the Kid how to have some fun.'

They exit Zulf's tent and enter the chilly world of the Bastion. It's frosty but the sun still shines down, and across the island Zulf sees Rucks and the Kid talking. It hasn’t even been a whole day and Zulf can already see the tension absent from his shoulders. Being the leader will be a big responsibility, but if it allows the Kid to rest, the Kid who has worked harder and longer than all of them combined, it’s worth it.


End file.
